LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

fīlum

fīlum n (genitive fīlī)
Classical[ˈfiː.ɫũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈfiː.lum]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. thread, string, filament, fiber
  2. texture, style, nature
  3. wick of a lamp

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

līnea tenuis ex lānā; fīlīs vestēs fīunt.
fīlum -ī n — in Mille Verba, ch. Vestis et Ōrnāmenta

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativefīlumfīla
genitivefīlīfīlōrum
dativefīlōfīlīs
accusativefīlumfīla
ablativefīlōfīlīs
vocativefīlumfīla

fīlum, i. n. (also filus, i, m., acc. to Arn. 1, 36 dub., plur.
I. heterocl., fili, Luc. 6, 460) [for figlum, v. figo], a thread of any thing woven (of linen or woolen cloth, a cobweb, etc.).
I. Lit., Varr. L. L. 5, § 113 Müll.; Enn. ap. Non. 116, 6 (Ann. v. 259 ed. Vahl.); Verg. A. 6, 30; Ov. A. A. 3, 445; id. M. 4, 36; Mart. 6, 3, 5; Cels. 7, 16: lumen candelae cujus tempero filum, wick, Juv. 3, 287: tenuia aranei, a web, Lucr. 3, 383: tineae, Ov. M. 15, 372.—Poet., of the thread of life spun by the Fates: sororum fila trium, Hor. C. 2, 3, 16; Verg. A. 10, 815; Ov. M. 2, 654; id. Tr. 5, 10, 45; Sil. 4, 28; Mart. 10, 5, 10 al.— Prov.: pendere filo (tenui), to hang by a thread, for to be in great danger: hac noctu filo pendebit Etruria tota, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 1, 4, § 18 (Ann. v. 153 ed. Vahl.): omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo, Ov. P. 4, 3, 35; Val. Max. 6, 4, 1.—
2. In partic., the fillet of wool wound round the upper part of the flamen's cap, similar to the στέμμα of the Greeks; hence, in gen., a priest's fillet: APICVLVM, filum, quo flamines velatum apicem gerunt, Paul. ex Fest. p. 23 Müll.: legatus capite velato filo (lanae velamen est), Audi, Juppiter, inquit, etc., Liv. 1, 32, 6: filo velatus, Tib. 1, 5, 15.—
B. Transf. (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose).
1. Of any thing slender and drawn out like a thread, a string, cord, filament, fibre: tractat inauratae consona fila lyrae, the strings, Ov. Am. 1, 8, 60; so, lyrae, id. M. 5, 118: sonantia, id. ib. 10, 89: croci, i. e. the stamen, id. F. 1, 342: foliorum exilitas usque in fila attenuata, Plin. 21, 6, 16, § 30; 11, 15, 15, § 39. —
2. Plur., shreds, slices, remnants: fila sectivi porri, Juv. 14, 133: porris fila resecta suis, Mart. 11, 52: fila Tarentini graviter redolentia porri edisti, id. 13, 18.—
3. I. q. crassitudo, the density, compactness, compact shape, or, in gen., contour, form, shape of an object: forma quoque hinc solis debet filumque videri, Lucr. 5, 571, v. Lachm. ad h. 1.; cf. id. 5, 581; 2, 341; 4, 88: mulieris, Plaut. Merc. 4, 4, 15: corporis, Varr. L. L. 10, § 4 Müll.; Gell. 1, 9, 2; Amm. 14, 11, 28: forma atque filo virginali, id. 14, 4, 2: ingeniosus est et bono filo, Petr. 46.—
II. Trop. (cf. the preced. no.), of speech, texture, sort, quality, nature, style (class.): ego hospiti veteri et amico munusculum mittere (volui) levidense, crasso filo, cujusmodi ipsius solent esse munera, i. e. of coarse texture, Cic. Fam. 9, 12, 2; cf.: argumentandi tenue filum, id. Or. 36, 124: tenui deducta poëmata filo, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 225; cf.: gracili connectere carmina filo, Col. poët. 10, 227: paulo uberiore filo, Cic. de Or. 2, 22, 93: orationis, id. ib. 3, 26, 103: aliud quoddam filum orationis tuae (= oratio uberior), id. Lael. 7, 25.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *fī(s)lom, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo- (“sinew”). Cognate with Lithuanian gysla (“vein; thread; nerve”), Proto-Slavic *žìla (“vein; sinew”), Old Armenian ջիլ (ǰil, “sinew”), Welsh gïau (“sinews”).

Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanfil
  • Catalanfila
  • Occitanfil
  • Occitanfila
  • Franco-Provençalfil
  • Old Frenchfil
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesefiofrom Old Galician-Portuguese fio
  • Spanishfilofrom Old Spanish filo
  • Spanishhilofrom Old Spanish filo
  • Spanishhilafrom Old Spanish filo
  • Aragonesefilo
  • Asturianfilu
  • Mirandesefilo
  • Galicianfíofrom Old Galician-Portuguese fio
  • Ladinofilofrom Old Spanish filo
Elsewhere
  • Italian*filzellafrom Vulgar Latin *filicella
  • Italianfilzafrom Vulgar Latin *filicella
  • Frenchficellefrom Vulgar Latin *filicella
  • Piedmontesefilselafrom Vulgar Latin *filicella
  • Piedmontesefisselafrom Vulgar Latin *filicella
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianfilu
  • Sardinianfiu
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianfilo
  • Italianfila
  • Galluresefilufrom Corsican filu
  • Sassaresefirufrom Corsican filu
  • Istriotfeîl
  • Istriotfeîlo
  • Dalmatianfilfrom Italian filo
  • Neapolitanfilu
  • Neapolitanfilo
  • Neapolitanfi
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianfir
  • Aromanianhir
  • Aromanianhjir
  • Aromanianhiru
  • Albanianfill
Borrowings
  • Englishfilum
  • Tarifitfiřu
  • Tarifitfilu
  • Tashelhitifili
  • Tashelhitifilu
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianfîl
  • Ladinfî
  • Romanshfil
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianfîl
  • Ligurianfî
  • Ligurianfia
  • Lombardfil
  • Piedmontesefil
  • Romagnolfil

Quick answers

What does fīlum mean in Latin?
fīlum, a noun, means “thread, string, filament, fiber; texture, style, nature; wick of a lamp”.
What is the genitive of fīlum?
The genitive singular is fīlī. fīlum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce fīlum?
In classical Latin, [ˈfiː.ɫũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈfiː.lum].